or wear surgical gloves while doing the mechanics and remove at piccy time

Thus is a good idea anyway, you can pick up a box of 100 for a fiver.

 

I have nothing against it and agree with the points made above.

Whoever set up that petition needs to do a bit more research next time.

And as for the moron who's put

Are there proposals to make all cars have ABS? Thought not.

  It's been mandatory for cars sold in the EU for 7 years now.

I have an idea. Build the standard fazer, and enjoy it

This.  I reckon you're going to build it up and then not be able to insure it because it's highly modified.

Anyone else sitting at their desk at work itching get on the bike at hometime and enjoy the ride home in the sun...... 32 minutes to go.......

Yes, but I'm in the car today

Fixed the indicator switch on the Blackbird, which meant completely disassembling the switch to clean 16 years of shit out of it.

Also washed the car (3rd time in 2 years) and bodge-fixed my pressure washer.

Once you've paid the tax on the 5 quid, what you've got left will buy less than the £1000 you had at the start of the year, thanks to inflation. Yes you've got more money, as in more pounds, but less wealth, which ultimately is the important thing, and what we mean when we say we're making money. We are getting less rich.

Yes, which is down to the pony interest rate.  Once that starts to go up again then savings will be making money.  Until then it's as you say.

So what you are saying is we would be better off spending our savings now on things we will need in the future... things like a new bike.

Exactly

Making money? Hardly, with the way interest rates and inflation are sitting!

Hardly, but you are.  If you stick £1000 in a savings account for a year you'll have £1005 at the end so you pay income tax on the £5 you earn.

Removed the Beowulf exhaust on my 600 and polished it up then remove the Fuel can on the thou and attempted to fit the Beowulf... only to find that the link pipe is about 4-5mm larger for the Fuel system so it won't fit... in fact, the link pipe has the exact same internal and external diameter as the connection on the Beowulf

Going to have to either find a connecting piece of metal, or buy a new link pipe

But still, refitted the Fuel can and went for a spin around the South of Bristol and North Somerset

Could you not cut a slot in it and open it up a fraction to fit over the can?

We have a staged system of vehicle taxation in this country where the most polluting or most damaging vehicles pay the most tax. All I'm asking is that that "staging" be applied to motorcycles as well, not least because they cause less congestion which is a positive benefit to road use.

Out of interest do you want stages set up purely for motorbikes, or for motorbikes to use the car stages?

Tax rates for a new, top band car are £1065 for the first year and then £490/year.  I'm guessing a Fazer 600 would be about the middle, which would be somewhere in the region of £150-£200/year if similar bands were set up for bikes.

Or should they use the exact same bands as cars, in which case my 1100 would just about fall into the £10/pa group.  Anything below a litre would be free, in which case why bother with the stages?

Glad I didn't disappoint

Never personally received a penny in state benefits and while in part I agree with your sentiment it is really up to the individual how they spend their payments if not specifically paid for set purpose like rent allowance etc. The annoyance comes imo when the individual spends it on sky tv, beer and fags and motorbikes then moans about getting a pittance and not enough to survive on.

This is pretty much it.  I'd prefer it to go on education or healthcare or something useful.

It's swings & roundabouts really.  I'm pissed off I have to avoid a 15 meter long pothole riding up the A12, but I'm glad there's an NHS that spent probably a years salary (and then some) on keeping my son alive when he was born early.

I agree and I think most would agree that its not the tax that is the issue, its how its spent

This.  I don't really have a problem with paying the £75 ish VED but I'd prefer if it wasn't paying some dole-scroungers Sky bill and cigarette habit

It is fairer, we both have a 600cc bike that's allowed to use the road so we pay the same. I already pay 80p/litre in duty and tax so tax based on emissions is covered.

Realistically it's never going to be canned. They might add 10p/litre to fuel but why take off the VED fee?  People will still pay it because they have to.

My bike has sat in the garage since Christmas eve by has used 2 months of tax whilst not going near a road.

There's already a system in place to save paying tax on vehicles like this.  If you don't want to tax/insure it if you're not using it for months at a time then SORN it.